Learning to fight back

This summer, I took a five-hour class on fighting back in enclosed spaces. It was based on a Russian martial art called Systema. The core principles of Systema are: breathe, relax, maintain your posture and never stop moving. It was amazing to me how movements that didn't look like much - to an observer, a move might look like a shoulder shrug for example - packed such a powerful wallop. The class was a great supplement to what I've already learned in kajukenbo and kung fu.

It was taught by Dean Foster, who has black belt rankings in several styles. He is also a police officer, a SWAT team member, and has trained Navy SEALs.

I learned how to fight back against guns, knives, garrotes, and even having a plastic bag yanked over your head. Plus it's just plain fun to listen to precepts such as, "Look at the knife, you'll get the knife" or "If you're going to die anyway, what does it matter if you get cut or shot?" (Fun for me, anyway, but many of the people in the class were professionals who actually have to worry about that kind of thing in real life.)